William Shakespeare
Hamlet
The play.
(I6OO-01)
Hamlet
is Shakespeare's most fa-
Hamlet's indecisions must be placed against
mous play. T h e story o f the D a n i s h p r i n c e
the b a c k g r o u n d o f the 'revenge tragedy', a
Hamlet was well-known to Shakespeare's con-
very popolar genre at the time. According to
temporaries through chronicles, and possibly
its conventions, H a m l e t should bave sought
also a stage vcrsion o f it (the so-called Uy-
revenge with ali his force and as soon as possi-
Haiiilet)
ble. But he does not do so. H e is full of hesita-
w h i c h , however, is n o w lost. T h e
has b e e n Constant
tions; in the first place, about his mother and
through the centuries, and its story is one o f
K i n g Claudius, w h o m he supposes has killed
the most frequently filmed.
his father; secondly, about himself.
Hamlet is perhaps the closest of Shakespeare's
I n his famous monologues he analyzes the
tragedies to m o d e m s e n s i b i l i t y . Its hero's
meaning o f life, and especiall\ the ideas o f
doubts and indecisions are familiar to m o d -
love and death. \n the most famous of them
p o p u l a r i t y o f Hamlet
e m man, equally tormented by a lack of cer-
("To be, or not to be") he debates whether ac-
tainties and the inability to communicate.
tion is preferable to inaction, and lifc to sui-
This is shown by the many theatrical and cine-
cide. As the Romantic critic August W. von
matic versions o f the play in m o d e m times,
Schlegel noted, Hamlet is the tragedy of will:
such as Tom Stoppard's play Koseiicrantz
ami
in i t , t h o u g h t kills action. A m b i g u i t } ' is the
Are Dead (1958, also turned into
key-note to the tragedy. Even the theme of re-
a successfull film in 1990) or, in Italy, Carmelo
venge, so clear in contemporary drama, bere is
Gtiildensteriì
Bene's/lOT/rto(1961).
called into question: ali the evidence Hamlet
has of Claudius' guilt are an apparition ( H a m let's father's ghost) and Claudius' confusion at
watching a play that reproduces his supposed
crime.
M o d e m criticism has also given a psychoanalytical reading o f the play: a c c o r d i n g to i t ,
Hamlet's hesitant and ambiguous behaviour
towards his mother and step-father (Claudius)
is an exemplification of the Oedipus complex,
i.e. the son's love o f his mother and hatred o f
his father.
Revisi ng
:l
Was
the
story of H a m l e t inventaci
by
Shakespeare?
2
Why
is Shakespeare's tragedy d o s e
to
modem sensibility?
3
Is Hamlet a true 'revenge tragedy'?
4
Why
has it been called 'the tragedy
of
will'?
<1 Handet seeing the ghost in a painting by the Swisshorii artist Hemy Ft/seli (1741-1825).
c
The king of Denmark is dead. The queen, Gertrude, has almost immediately
married the dead king's brother, Claudius. The dead king's son Hamlet,
prince of Denmark, meets his father's ghost on the battlements of Elsinore
Castle; the ghost tells him that Claudius is guilty of his murder and asks
Hamlet to take revenge. Hamlet pretends to be mad in order to gain time
and obsen'e the behaviour of the king and queen. His brilliant, sensitive
mind is undecided about what to do and he even contemplates suicide,
T n E
TRAGEDY
HAMLET
Prince of Denmark.
it is ny,v A d j J ,it liis H]ijliii:fs ili,;
Hamlet then asks the actors in a Court play to insert a scene like that of his
father's murder, in order to obsen-e the king's reaction. The king's confusion
confirms the ghost's revelation: Claudius is guilty of Hamlet's father's death.
By mistake Hamlet kills Polonius, father of Ophelia. whom Hamlet lo\^es.
Ophelia goes insane and drowns herself. Polonius' son, Laertes, swears
revenge. Tlie king then uses him to carry out his own pian to murder Hamlet.
A fencing match is arranged; Laertes, on the king's adx-ice, uses a poisoned
I. 0 S D 0 X:
».«,.-.!II. IkiI m f. fm,
(im<h.\jr.l, .-.nj
foil. I n this tragic duel Hamlet is killed as planned, but before that he mortally wounds Laertes and stabs the king. The queen b\ mistake drinks a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies.
HOW TO GIVE EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT
While you are reporting, it is good practice to support your statements either by quoting from the text or by commenting on it.
To do so, first of ali you bave to select the main points of entry you want to make and underline in your textbook (or copy out on a
separate sheet) the words you want to quote or comment upon.
Remember that in a text:
• the sentences which contain the main ideas are called topic sentences;
• the words which give relevant information about the content of a text and/or the attitude of the author are called key-words.
Ali the information you need is provided in your textbook by the introduction to the work, the passage itself and the 'Focus on the text'
which follows.
Read the passage "To Be, or Not to Be" from Hamlet on p. 158 and the 'Focus on the text', then do the exercise. Now choose the main
points about the passage and try to give evidence from the text. Here are a few possible examples:
POINTS YOU HAVE SELECTED
Hamlet's doubts and indecisions
EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT
"To be, or not to be - that is the question" (l.l)
"To sleep- perchance to dream. Ay, ther's the rub," (l. 10)
Life after death as mysterious and dreadful
"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come" (l. 11)
"The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns..." (II. 24-25)
Life as a battle
"slings and arrows" (l. 3); "to take arms" (l. 4)
Life as suffering.
lines 3-4; lines 7-8; lines 15-19; lines 21-22
Suicide as a possible solution
"by opposing end them" (l. 5)
" Tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wished" (II. 8-9)
"his quietus make / With a bare bodkin" (II. 20-21)
Hamlet's incapacity for action
"Thus conscience does make cowards of us ali;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (II. 28-30)
Useful words and phrases
The centrai dilemma of Hamlet's monologue is summed up in the famous phrase "To be, or not to be" (l. 1).
Hamlet's profound pessimism about life is revealed by / is shown by / comes out clearly in his choice of words and images when in
lines 15-19 he lists / describes / defines the sufferings men bave to bear: "The whips and scorns...".
Hamlet contemplates the idea that suicide might be a possible solution. This can be inferred from lines...
The metaphor of life after death as "The undiscovered country..." (II. 24-25) conveys an idea of...
Hamlet's incapacity for action shows clearly at the end of the passage when he says: "Thus conscience...." (II. 28-29).
Remember that:
• when you quote in writing you bave to put inverted commas (" ") before and after the word or phrase you are quoting (it is a good
habit to also add line reference);
• when you quote in an orai report you bave to say "quote" before starting your quotation and "unquote" at the end of it.
Using quotations in an orai report or in a written comment on a text is always very effective, as you can see from the 'Focus on the text'
after each passage in your textbook!
167
To Be, or Not to Be
This, Shakespeare's most famous monologue, takes place at the beginning of Act I I I , when
Hamlet is already suspected of being mad. The cause of his madness is stili unknown. Polonius, the king of Denmark's counsellor, believes that Hamlet's melancholy is the result of
his unhappy love for Ophelia, Polonius' daughter. Polonius and King Claudius then hide
themselves to observe Hamlet's behaviour in the presence of Ophelia. It is at this point that
Hamlet enters, already talking to himself.
WiJJiam
Shakespeare,
Hamlet
{im-Oìì
Pre-reading
^
Hamlet's famous dilemma "To be, or not to be" means:
a
Whether revenge is batter than death.
c
Whether Life is batter than death.
h
Whether Love is better than death.
d
Whether i n s a n ì t y is better than death.
[Ei7ter HAMLET]
^ |J HAMLET
5
10
15
20
1. To be... be; ro conrimie to
live or to commit suicide. This
is the usuai explanation of these
lines. But they also might mean:
to act or not to act, to yield to
destiny or to tight against it.
2. VC'hether,,. them: the choice
is between a patient and noble
forbearance of adverse fortune
(a Stoic attitude) and, on the
other band, an active opposition.
3. No more: no more than io
168
[Entra AHLETO]
be, or net to be' - that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The shngs and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them.- To die, to sleep No more' - and by a sleep to say \ve end
The heartache and the thousand naturai shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep To sleep - perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rtib.
For in that sleep of death what dreains may come
When we bave shuffled off this mortai coil
Must give US pause."* There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.^
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,''
The insolence of office,' and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,*^
When he himself might his quietus make'^
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,"'
TO
sleep. That is, to end ali our
sufferings by death, the 'long
sleep'. The real p r o b l e m is:
what Comes after the final
sleep? Perhaps bad dreams,
nightmares: the fear of afterlite,
to which Hamlet refers in the
next lines.
4. For... pause: because the
fear of those dreams that may
come in the "sleep of death",
when we have freed ourselves
ot ali the worrics of life, that
AMLETO
Essere... o non essere. E il problema.
Se sia meglio per ['anima soffrire
oltraggi di fortuna, sassi e dardi,
0 prender l'armi contro questi guai
e opporvisi e distruggerti. Morire, dormire...
nulla più. E dirsi così con un sonno che noi mettiamo fine
al crepacuore ed alle mille ingiurie naturali,
retaggio della carne! Questa è la consunzione
da invocare devotamente. Morire, dormire;
dormire, sognar forse... Forse; e qui è l'incagho:
che sogni sopravvengano dopo che ci si strappa
dal tumulto della vita mortale,
ecco il riguardo che ci arresta e che induce la sciagura
a durar tanto anch'essa.
E chi vorrebbe sopportare i malanni e le frustate dei tempi,
l'oppressione dei tiranni, le contumelie dell'orgoglio,
e pungoli d'amor sprezzato e rèmore di leggi,
arroganza daU'alto e derisione
degl'indegni sul merito paziente,
chi lo potrebbe mai se uno può darsi
quietanza col filo d'un pugnale? Chi vorrebbe sudare
e bestemmiare spossato, sotto il peso della vita,
se non fosse l'angoscia del paese dopo la morte.
tear makes us hesitate before
committing suicide.
5. There's... life: it is this consideration that gives our troubles such a long lifc.
6. law's delay: a typical problem of the Elizabethan age.
Shakespeare
h i m s e l f was
in\'ol\'ed in sex-eral ìaw suits.
ditional formula for a debt that
was being paid).
7. office: people holding officiai positions.
8. the spurns... takes: the contemptuous rejection that
10. But... death: if it was not
for the fear of something after
life: that defeats our will to end
life.
deserving people ( " m e r i t " )
ha\'e patiently to bear from the
unworthy.
9. his quietus make: get rid of
life's troubles (get his rcceipt,
his release trom the hea\'y debt
of life: 'i/n/cfns est' was the tra-
25
30
35
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No tra\'eller returns, puzzles the will.
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us ali;
And thus the natix-e hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,"
And enterprises of great pitch and moment'With this regard their currents turn awry
And l e s e the name of action. Soft you now.
The fair Ophelia! " - Nymph, in th\ orisons
Be ali mv sins remembered.
da cui mai nessuno
è tornato, a confonderci il volere
ed a farci indurire ai mali d'oggi
piuttosto che volare a mah ignoti?
La coscienza, così, fa tutti vih,
così il colore della decisione
al riflesso del dubbio si corrompe
e le imprese più alte e che più contano
si disviano, perdono anche i l nome
dell'azione. Ma zitto! Ora la bella
Ofelia s'avvicina. - Possa tu, Ninfa, nelle preghiere
ricordare ì miei peccati.
(translated by Eugenio Montale)
11. thus... thought: so resolution to die, which originally. in
its native state, had a good
complexion (indicative of good
health), is now sick, hesitant,
and has the pale c o l o u r i n g
given it by an.xiety and too
much thinking.
12. great... moment: high aspiration and importance. "Pitch"
indicated the highest point ot a
falcon's flight. Falcons were
ustially compared to kings and
warriors.
13. Soft... Ophelia: but who is
rhere now, beautiful Ophelia I
"Soft", which literally means
'with a low \-oice', was a common interjection expressing
surprise at meeting someone
unexpectediy. In a way. the
player turned down his own
\oice and began another speech
with a different intonation and
gestures since it was not directed to himself and the audience
but to another player, or other
players, on the stage.
Focus on the text
The centrai dilemma of the passage - summed
up in the famous phrase "To be, or not to be" -
seems to be the choice beUveen action and inaction. This is generally taken to relate to Hamlet's
incapacity to carry out the revenge on his uncle
that his father's ghost has asked of h i m . But
there is more than a personal pracdcal dilemma
involved. Two philosophical positions, unreconciled in Hamlet's monologue, are cxpressed in
the first five lines: one is the Stoic attitude of
enduring life's evils and misfortune at ali costs
and to the end (11. 2-3); the other is the belief
that, if necessary, man may end life by suicide (11.
4-5). In both cases, however, life is seen as a balde ("slings and arrows", "to take arms").
Hamlet's choice of words and images shows his
profound pessimism. After some general statements on death and life (11. 5-14) in which he
lists characteristic human sufferings (11. 15-22),
Hamlet examines the thought of life after death.
This is something which nobody really knows
anything about and everybody fears. I t is this
thought that makes men patiently endure life's
sufferings and prevents them from committing
suicide. It is not so clear whether this is the position that Hamlet prefers - he interrupts himself
when he realizes Ophelia is on the stage: "Soft
you now, / The fair Ophelia!" (11. 33-34). But his
resentment at man's, or his own, incapacit)' for
action is quite obvious in the last lines.
A Richard Btirtoii is shown as he appeared in the
graveyard scene o/Hanilet /// an Old Vie production, in
London.
169